Does the Act of Prayer Lead to Forgiveness?

A new research study investigates if saying prayers can assist forgiveness and help maintain relationships.

Florida State University psychologist Nathaniel Lambert studied the following research hypothesis: Is it possible that directed prayer might spark forgiveness in those doing the praying—and in the process preserve relationships?

Research consisted of Lambert and colleagues conducting two experiments described in the journal Psychological Science.

In the first, they had a group of men and women pray one single prayer for their romantic partner’s wellbeing. Others—the experimental controls—simply described their partner, speaking into a tape recorder.

Then they measured forgiveness. The scientists defined forgiveness as the diminishing of the initial negative feelings that arise when you’ve been wronged. Their results showed that those who had prayed for their partner harbored fewer vengeful thoughts and emotions: They were more ready to forgive and move on.

If one single prayer can cause such a striking difference in feelings, then what could prayer over a period of time do for a relationship?

In a second study, the researchers had a group of men and women pray for a close friend every day for four weeks. Others simply reflected on the relationship, thinking positive thoughts but not praying for their friend’s wellbeing.

They also added another dimension. They used a scale to measure selfless concern for others—not any particular person but other people generally. They speculated that prayer would increase selfless concern, which in turn would boost forgiveness.

And that’s just what they found. But why? How does this common spiritual practice exert its healing effects?

The psychological scientists have an idea: Most of the time, couples profess and believe in shared goals, but when they hit a rough patch, they often switch to adversarial goals like retribution and resentment.

These adversarial goals shift cognitive focus to the self, and it can be tough to shake that self-focus. Prayer appears to shift attention from the self back to others, which allows the resentments to fade.

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Rick Nauert PhD

Dr. Rick Nauert has over 25 years experience in clinical, administrative and academic healthcare. He is currently an associate professor for Rocky Mountain University of Health Professionals doctoral program in health promotion and wellness. Dr. Nauert began his career as a clinical physical therapist and served as a regional manager for a publicly traded multidisciplinary rehabilitation agency for 12 years. He has masters degrees in health-fitness management and healthcare administration and a doctoral degree from The University of Texas at Austin focused on health care informatics, health administration, health education and health policy. His research efforts included the area of telehealth with a specialty in disease management.

APA Reference Nauert PhD, R. (2018). Does the Act of Prayer Lead to Forgiveness?. Psych Central.
Retrieved on March 21, 2019, from https://psychcentral.com/news/2010/01/28/does-the-act-of-prayer-lead-to-forgiveness/11024.html

Last updated: 8 Aug 2018Last reviewed: By a member of our scientific advisory board on 8 Aug 2018Published on Psych Central.com. All rights reserved.